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Category: Equality

Equality and Human Rights Commission report: The Cumulative Impact of Tax and Welfare Reforms

15 March 2018

‘The impact of changes to direct taxes and benefits is to reduce the income of
Bangladeshi households by around £4,400 per year on average’.

Four months after releasing their 2017 interim report, the Equality and Human Rights Commission have published their final cumulative impact assessment (pdf), in March 2018.

The report exposes how much individuals and households are expected to gain or lose, and how many adults and children will fall below an adequate standard of living, as a result of recent changes to taxes and social security.

The report finds:

Negative impacts are particularly large for households with more disabled members, and individuals with more severe disabilities, as well as for lone parents on low incomes
For some family types, these losses represent over 13% of average net income
At an individual level, women lose on average considerably more from changes to direct taxes and benefits than men
Lone parents in the bottom fifth of the household income distribution lose around 25% of their net income, on average
Around 1.5 million more children are forecast to be living in households below the relative poverty line as a result of the reforms.
EDF and a number of our members have contributed to the development of this important research.

Read the full report (pdf).

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logo for Institute For Fiscal Studies

Institute for Fiscal Studies briefing: Poverty and Low Pay in the UK

15 March 2018

57% of people in poverty are children or working-age adults living in a household where someone is in paid work.  

This is according to a March 2018 briefing from the Institute for Fiscal Studies on poverty and low pay in the UK. 

The briefing finds:

Low pay is highly related to lack of pay progression. The wages of the low- and high- educated, and of men and women, end up much further apart by age 40 than they were at the start of their careers
Experience and education are both positively associated with higher wages, but the association with experience is much stronger for the high-educated than the low-educated
The fact that women’s wages fall behind their male counterparts over the lifecycle is, in part, related to a remarkable lack of wage progression in part-time work.
Read the full briefing.

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The House of Commons logo.

House of Commons briefing paper: Social Care – Announcements Delaying the Introduction of Funding Reforms

8 March 2018

In July 2015, the Government announced that it would delay reforms of social care funding from April 2016 to April 2020.

In response, the House of Commons Library have published a February 2018 briefing paper outlining the postponement of these reforms. 

This paper finds:

The Government cited the expected £6 billion cost of the policy (over five years) at “a time of consolidation” as the reason for the delay, and noted the “genuine concerns raised by stakeholders” about the introduction of the changes
The Government has stated that it will publish a Green Paper on social care for older people by the 2018 parliamentary summer recess (which starts on 25 July), and undertake a parallel programme of work in regard to social care for working age adults
In December 2017, the revised date of April 2020 for the introduction of the cap was dropped and no new date was announced. The Government told the House that this postponement was necessary “to allow for fuller engagement and the development of the approach, and so that reforms to the care system and how it is paid for are considered in the round”.
Read the full report.

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CLASS logo

Centre for Labour and Social Studies report: Labour Market Realities 2018 – Workers on the Brink

8 March 2018

Over a third of the entire working population state that they do not earn enough to keep up with the basic cost of living.

This from the February 2018 report (pdf) from the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) on the state of the UK labour market.

The report finds:

Amongst those aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 34, 39% and 44% respectively are struggling to make ends meet
Those earning £20,000 to £39,999 are more likely to think the economy is working badly and even among incomes in excess of £40,000, less than a third think the economy is working well
Over 50% of those employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing want more hours than their employer can currently offer.
Read the full report (PDF).

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ROTA

Race on the Agenda resource: Employment and Anti-Discrimination Support Tool

6 March 2018

ROTA’s Equality Law Project aims to support frontline organisations to understand and use the Equality Act 2010.

The project has produced an online employment and anti-discrimination legal support tool to support VCS organisations and their service users identify appropriate legal advice, support and representation in their local area.

This free searchable database will not only help BAME and migrant organisations deal with casework, but will enable them to better support BAME and migrant workers.

Access the search tool.

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Equality and Human Rights Commission survey report and campaign: Moving Forward

5 March 2018

6 in 10 employers agree that a woman should have to disclose whether she is pregnant during the recruitment process.

This is according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) who have published the results of their survey on maternity discrimination in the workplace, in February 2018.

The aim of the survey was to understand managers’ attitudes around pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

Findings from the survey include:

44% of employers agree that women should work for an organisation for at least a year before deciding to have children
40% of employers claim to have seen at least one pregnant woman in their workplace ‘take advantage’ of their pregnancy
41% employers agreed that pregnancy in the workplace puts ‘an unnecessary cost burden’ on the workplace.
EHRC have also launched a February 2018 campaign to combat these negative perceptions and end discrimination against new parents. Working Forward asks businesses to join the campaign and make the pledge.

Read the research report.

Find out on the Working Forward campaign.

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The EHRC logo.

Equality and Human Rights Commission response: Department for Education’s Consultation on Sex and Relationships Education and PSHE

28 February 2018

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have published their response to the consultation on the changes to teaching of sex and relationship education, and PSHE, in February 2018.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission recommends:

Schools should take a rights-based approach to the whole-school environment, by addressing all subjects from the perspective of ensuring respect for individuals’ human rights
The Department for Education should improve training and guidance for teachers so that they can more comprehensively consider the needs of all pupils
When faced with requests to withdraw, schools should ask parents to state in writing their reasons for wishing to withdraw their child.
Read the full response. 

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